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Careers advice for your students
UCC Career Consultants
UCC Career Consultants work in partnership with academic staff across the university to facilitate the career development and employability of students, serving to enhance students’ educational experience and subsequent graduate outcomes.
Collaborating with a Career Consultant can reap multiple benefits for your academic programme in terms of student recruitment, retention and progression.
What can Career Consultants do for academic staff?
- Assist you in identifying the key knowledge, skills and attributes that will enhance students’ employability and how they might be taught within your programme.
- Design and deliver/co-deliver career development and employability learning opportunities, including micro-credentials, case studies, role plays, simulations, alumni events, skills clinics or a combination of these, and more, depending on the particular needs of your students.
- Create customised career development and employability micro-credentials that are tailored to the needs of each cohort of students.
- Contribute to the planning, design and delivery of all accredited career development and employability initiatives in partnership with academic staff.
- Organise innovative employer-led events for students, including sector and career-specific fairs and skills sessions, in collaboration with the Employer Engagement Team.
- Provide student-led, confidential, one-to-one consultations as required by students as they move through their student journey.
For more information, contact the career development and employability consultant for your College/Sector.
Read our new UCC Career Services Guide to Discover Our Story Discover Our Story.
Brenda Nestor
Career Consultant- College of Business and Law
Contact: brenda.nestor@ucc.ie
Hello, my name is Brenda Nestor. I am a UCC Career Consultant with several years’ experience working with students from all colleges to achieve career success.
My background is in business development and I particularly specialise in providing individual and group career support to students from the College of Business and Law.
I would be delighted to provide you with advice on any career related area.
Please get in touch! I look forward to working with you!
Deirdre Parker
Career Consultant- College of Science, Engineering and Food Science, College of Medicine and Health
Contact: d.parker@ucc.ie
Hi, my name is Deirdre Parker, and I work as a Career Consultant in UCC. If you are a student of UCC you will have career goals and aspirations that matter hugely to you. Career Consultants can help in two important ways. Firstly, we can teach you the practical skills and knowledge you will need to prepare for the transition from college life to the world of work. Secondly, support. As qualified Career Consultants we can provide you with a safe and confidential space to brainstorm your ideas, share any concerns, seek impartial feedback, and evaluate your options. You can also learn about career opportunities that are relevant to you.
Elaine Browne
Career Consultant- College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences
Contact: e.browne@ucc.ie
Hi, my name is Elaine Browne, I am a Career Consultant, with a background in Human Resources, Recruitment and Psychology. I work with students across all levels of undergraduate and postgraduate courses through one-to-one consultations and employability workshops to maximise their career potential.
I support students in their career decisions, getting relevant experience and ensuring they are work ready to develop a successful career. I currently provide specialist careers support to students in the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences.
I look forward to working with you.
Mary Coghlan
Career Consultant- College of Science, Engineering & Food Science
Contact: mcoghlan@ucc.ie
Hi, my name is Mary Coghlan. I have over 20+ years’ experience in Career Services including Work Placement, Graduate Recruitment and Professional Services. As a Career Consultant I support undergraduate and postgraduate students from all Colleges to make informed career decisions.
I coach students, developing employability skills through to successful job applications. I currently provide specialist career support to students from the College of Science, Engineering and Food science (SEFS).
I look forward to working with you.
Mary McCarthy
Career Consultant- College of Business and Law, Arts & Humanities
Contact: marymccarthy@ucc.ie
My name is Mary McCarthy, as a career consultant with 20 years' experience across all degrees I help you to achieve Career Success and provide a specialist career support to students of Business and Law, Arts, and Humanities.
I provide individual career advice and coaching on all matters career related from making career decisions, CVS & job applications-to getting work experience and identifying things you can do, so you are highly employable when you graduate and much more.
Ruth Mac Conaill
Career Consultant - College of Medicine and Health
Contact: ruth.macconaill@ucc.ie
Hi, my name is Ruth Mac Conaill, and I am a Career Consultant, with a background in recruitment and student placement spanning 18 years.
Through one-to-one career advice and coaching, I can help you discover your potential, figure out your career path and learn how to engage with employers to achieve your career goals.
I currently provide specialist career support to students in the College of Medicine and Health, but my background allows me to support students of all disciplines.
Shay Nolan
Career Consultant - College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences
Contact: shay.nolan@ucc.ie
Hi, my name is Shay Nolan, and I am a Careers Consultant with more than 15 years' experience supporting students to make important careers decisions and to develop employability skills. I engage with students through one-to-one consultations, and in groups through the design and delivery of career development workshops.
I provide specialist careers support to students in the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences. In particular I offer support to Humanities students around career planning and development.
What can Career Consultants do for your students?
Facilitate a decision-making process and the achievement of goals that are aligned with personal strengths, values and interests
- Make intelligent use of psychometrically validated self-assessments to help clarify students’ individual interests, values, personal characteristics and aspirations
- Provide professional impartial, person-centred, confidential support
- Raise students’ awareness of local, national and international development opportunities, on and off campus, voluntary and paid, educational and work-based
- Enhance students’ ability to source and access career opportunities successfully
We deliver or co-deliver a range of career development and employability seminars and modules, tailored to the needs of specific cohorts of students. This can take the form of stand-alone workshops that sit outside the curriculum or full or partial credit-bearing modules that sit within the curriculum. Content can be customised for the particular needs of certain students.
Examples of standalone seminars and workshops include:
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At the end of this session, students will be able to:
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Your Best Future
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- Recognise the link between careers interests and choice of role.
- Identify work opportunities aligned with their career interests.
- Use a career investigation tool to research relevant careers.
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Your Personality and Your Career
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- Identify the four scales that comprise the type dynamics framework and its 16 types.
- Grasp the concept of personality type and how it may interact with career choices, environments and behaviours.
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Your Values and Your Career
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- Appreciate the link between values and career-related behaviour and decision making.
- Recognise that overt, consciously stated values may differ from our true values (of which we are often less conscious).
- Identify the attributes and skills needed of graduates by today’s employers.
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Your Employability Audit
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- Plan specific actions to develop relevant attributes and skills in order of their personal priority.
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Your Network
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- Recognise the impact of personal relationships on their careers.
- Identify the “people who matter” in relation to their career plans.
- Build relationships with potential allies, mentors, role models.
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Your Job Search
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- Identify the most proven, proactive job search techniques.
- Use practical techniques to network in person at events.
- Conduct informational interviews that showcase your employability.
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Your Online Presence
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- Protect your online presence.
- Leverage social media tools to develop their personal network.
- Create an effective LinkedIn profile.
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Your Job Applications
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- Identify the structure and organisation of a graduate CV.
- Recognise the content that must be included and prioritised.
- Describe each role/project using succinct bullet points that emphasise outcomes (including measurable results).
- Write a cover letter that is customised to their targeted company, role and sector.
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Your Job Interview Strategy
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- Prepare relevant information in advance of an interview
- Recognise the most widely used types of graduate interviews.
- Dress appropriately and adopt positive body language to make the best possible impression.
- Prepare effectively for the most commonly used interview questions, including competency-based.
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Your Next Assessment Centre
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- Recognise the behavioural competencies best assessed through assessment centre activities.
- Prepare mentally for assessments by knowing how and when employers use them.
- Identify the “positive and negative behaviours” sought by assessors when assessing group tasks and activities.
- Access material that will help you to prepare for assessments used by graduate employers, including psychometric and group exercises.
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